Burning of houses, bombing on schools and the scuffle of local residents. Assam-Mizoram borders had seen all those before July 26, when police forces of the two states fired at each other killing at least six Assam policemen and a civilian, and injuring 41 others.
The simultaneous fight between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga on Twitter blaming each other for the worst ever fight on the inter-state border, FIR and counter FIR and the road blockade by angry locals on Assam side of the border equally hogged the headlines amid the pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were tagged by both on Twitter, even during the 35-minute gunfight.
Things calmed down on Thursday (August 5) when ministers of two states met in Mizoram capital Aizawl and resolved to continue talks for an amicable solution to the dispute. But Mohendra Debnath, a shopkeeper at Lailapur in South Assam’s Cachar district, the epicentre of the incident was not convinced. “Don’t expect much from such a meeting,” Debnath old DH over phone with cynicism.
Debnath was among many who rushed to the inner-line reserve forest that separates Lailapur with Vairangte in Mizoram’s Kolasib district. “The killings could have been avoided if earlier incidents were taken seriously by the government,” he said.
Assam’s Cachar and Karimganj districts and Kolasib and Mamit districts of Mizoram share 164.6km border that has remained disputed since the British days in India (see infographics). The fights on the border, however, were mostly seen since 1972, when Mizoram or Lushai Hills was carved out of Assam, first as a Union Territory and then as a full-fledged state in 1987.
Fight for land
On paper, it’s a fight between two British-era notifications: one issued in 1875 and another in 1933. Mizoram says the 1875 notification should be the basis to demarcate the boundary while Assam stresses on the “Constitutional” boundary decided in 1972 based on the 1933 notification. On the ground, however, it’s a fight for land and the fear from outside settlers. “Mizos are continuously encroaching on our forests. Just go there and see how they have constructed huts, plantations and roads,” Mohedra’s brother Monindra said.
At around 11.30 am on July 26, an Assam police team led by an IGP reached the Inner Line Reserve Forest, a 509-sq km natural boundary following a report that Mizoram constructed a road and set up a police post there. Assam says the area belongs to it as decided in 1972. Assam policemen pushed the Mizoram police from the post and was having a discussion with SP, Kolasib when firing started at around 4.15 pm.
Mizoram says the inner line reserve forest area used to be a hunting ground for the Mizos. Chief Minister Zoramthanga alleged that Assam was trying to occupy its land in order to settle “Bangladeshi migrants” living in Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts. Both Mizoram and three Assam districts share border with Bangladesh. Majority in the three Assam districts are Bengali speaking Hindus and Muslims and many of them are suspected by the Mizos as “Bangladeshi migrants.” Lailapur is a Hindu majority area.
“Mizos believe that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is the main factor behind Himanta Biswa Sarma’s misadventure. He wants to create a solid vote bank in the area by settling the Bangladeshi Hindus, who would get citizenship through the CAA. The Centre could also be supporting this land grabbing adventure for Bangladeshi Hindus,” said Lalianchunga, associate professor of political science, Mizoram University.
Sarma countered such allegations saying, “If they can suspect our people as Bangladeshis, then our people will also say those who tried to occupy our land are Myanmarese.” Mizoram also shares 510-km border with Myanmar. Over 10,000 Myanmar nationals have taken shelter in Mizoram since the military coup in February this year. “Some people are angry with us as we blocked many of those Myanmarese who tried to enter Dima Hasao district recently. Many are unhappy over our drive against illicit drugs, which pours in from Myanmar and are transported through Mizoram and Assam for markets in Punjab,” Sarma claimed. Dima Hasao is a tribal dominated hills district in Assam sharing boundary with Cachar.
Upamanyu Hazarika, a Supreme Court lawyer said Assam government’s failure to complete the NRC exercise was creating more fear among the tribals about the Bangladeshi migrants. “As the foreigners have not yet been identified, they are trying to occupy land here and there, and this is resulting in conflicts, even on the inter-state border,” he said.
Blame on the Centre
The July 26 firing took place two days after Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Ministers of all the Northeastern states in Meghalaya capital Shillong and discussed the boundary issues. Shah asked the CMs to resolve the border issues before 2022, when the country celebrates 75th year of the Independence. But the firing two days later led Congress in Assam to blame the Centre for the incident. “I had written a letter to Amit Shah in September last year requesting him to have a meeting separately with CMs of the states having border disputes and prevent escalation of the situation. Our warnings have been neglected,” said Debabrata Saikia, leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Assam.
“Why can’t the BJP government solve the border issue now when the states of the Northeast are ruled by the party or its allies?” Saikia asked. Mizo National Front led by Zoramthanga, an NDA partner, is in power in Mizoram now. Sarma countered asking why could not Congress do so as the party was in power in all the states till 2016. “This is not a fight between two political parties. This is a conflict between two states. We should not do politics over it as people of both the states are suffering,” Sarma said.
Settlement in court
Assam government has decided to move the Supreme Court soon “so save the inner line reserve forest from encroachment.” But Lalianchunga says a solution in the court was also unlikely given the fact that the petitions pending in the Supreme Court for years regarding Assam-Nagaland and Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary could not reach a conclusion.
“The principle of give and take shall be used for peaceful settlement of the dispute. The Cachar Inner Line of 1875, claimed by Mizoram, runs deep into the plain area where the Assam state has a jurisdiction presently, while the 1933 notification, as claimed by Assam, has covered a large areas where the Mizos are presently living within the jurisdiction of present Mizoram state. So, either side would not be fully ready to agree on 1875 or 1933 boundary. Assam loses some from 1933 notification, Mizoram would also lose some from 1875 should be the solution,” Laliangchunga said.
Situation on the ground, however, has not improved much as locals at Lailapur continue to block the National Highway 306 resulting disruption of transportation to Mizoram. The highway connects Mizoram with Assam and rest of India. “Even the trucks carrying medicines and oxygen concentrators for Covid-19 patients has been blocked on the highway,” Mizoram Health Minister R Lalthingliana said in his letter to Amit Shah on August 2.
In the meantime, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh CMs have ‘agreed in principle’ to take steps for out-of-court settlement of the dispute while Nagaland Assembly on August 5 adopted a resolution calling for similar (out-of-court) settlement by involving local communities from both the states.
Upamanyu Hazarika, however, said, “We lack that kind of leadership to address the issues amicably. Our present leaders are playing more with jingoism than governance.”
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